Podonomics

By way of Paul Colligan, I found out about Podcast Academy 4 (PA4). It’s all about video podcasting, so I may fly down a day earlier so I can take in this event before I speak at the Podcast & Portable Media Expo.

A quick scan of the speakers at PA4 shows me that of the 8 sessions, 6 of them are led by men. There’s one slot still left to be filled on a session about metrics (I can’t think of any women who can talk about this) and the live taping of 88Slides.com is being co-hosted by a man and a woman (although, I believe the woman is just eye dressing).

(**sigh**) I guess I now have to launch a video podcast so I can be included in this fine group. But why is this burden my own to bear?

Technorati Tags: podcasting, video podcasting, podcast academy 4, PA4

By way of my trackbacks below, I was led to a very cool blogsite that has everything and anything you need to know about upcoming internet marketing events.

It reminded me to let you know about a teleclass I’m a guest on today at 2pm ET, hosted by Kelly McCausey. It’s part of her Hot Seminar Series, so if you want to learn more about podcasting, register now.

Techorati Tags: kelly mccausey, Leesa Barnes, podcasting

Becky Rynor, a writer who attended the Podcasters Across Borders conference a couple weekends back, had an article published today on podcasting. The lousy thing is that you need a subscription in order to read the article. So un-podcast-like. I mean, the purchasing part.

In any case, I went to my closest Internationale Presse store and purchased a copy of the Ottawa Citizen. I was rather pleased with the article. I was happy to see Rynor clear up some misconceptions (”No, you don’t need an iPod to listen to a podcast”) and she included many female voices, including yours truly.

She included a quote from me at the end of the article that seemed to sum up the mood of the conference and podcasting in general. What was my winning quote?

“That’s what I love about podcasting. The community of podcasters is so open, even though we are all here as competitors. No other industry does this. We share ideas. We give. And we give back.”

Blah. I’ve got to come up with some better quotes. Here are some quotes from the article that I wish I had said.

Bob Goyetche, organizer of PAB and host of Canadian Podcast Buffet:

“With podcasting, I’m as powerful as ABC.”

Julien Smith, host of In Over Your Head:

“I would rather listen to a 15-year old who is having trouble at school, than a mainstream radio host who has nothing to say.”

Cathi Bond, host of The Sniffer:

“Podcasting is about doing every single thing the CBC won’t let me do.”

Neil Gorman, host of Comicology:

“[Podcasting] is out Speaker’s Corner. It’s so cool.”

Grab a copy online or go to one of those stores that sell international magazines and newspapers to pick up your copy of this article.

Technorati Tags: pab2006, ottawa citizen,

By way of Kate’s blog, I found out about CaseCamp being organized by Eli Singer. I saw that there was one more space left for a speaker, so I grabbed it. I’m going to speak about Podcasts Gone Bad based on one of my past posts. I’m also going to make the session interactive by asking the group what they would’ve done differently. Should be fun.

Interested in attending? I’d love to meet you and network. Check out the event’s wiki page for more details and add yourself to the list of attendees.

Technorati Tags: CaseCamp, toronto

Jon over at BizPodcasting is a guy I like. He and I seem to think alike and his blog posts are just so clever.

He has a category called Snake Oil where he analyzes podcasting products and determines if the person is trying to make a fast buck in the podcasting world.

Well, Jon just analyzed a new item in his snake oil category and this time, he started a firestorm (read the comments). He analyzed the Women’s Podcasting Expo taking place online July 14-16, 2006. Jon’s beef is that the organizers are charging speakers to speak. In essence, you purchase a booth for $100 and that gives you the right to present at the expo.

Penny Haynes, who is really making an impact in the podcasting world, organizes these virtual expos and she does a bang-on job. And I know that she uses these expos to not only raise awareness of podcasting, but to do a revenue share with all the people involved in organizing this virtual event.

I spoke at the International Podcasting Expo in April which was loads of fun. I’m also speaking at this Expo in 2-weeks. I enjoy being part of this effort.

What do you think about this? Should speakers pay to speak at a conference? Should speakers be expected to pay the entrance fee to access an event they’re speaking at?

(BTW, Tim Bourquin’s blog post on this topic makes an interesting read. He organizes the Podcast & Portable Media Expo. I’ll be speaking at this event in September.)

Technorati Tags: Tim Bourquin, penny haynes, jon watson, women’s podcasting expo, Podcast Expo 2006

Tod Maffin gave an impromptu presentation on why podcasting is so important. He used a variety of clips from various podcasts to drive his points home.

In particular, Tod said:

• Use music to separate the different scenes in your podcast.
• If you think you have a lousy voice for podcasting, get over it because someone has a worst voice than yours.
• All podcasters are making public radio. The only difference between podcasters and public broadcasters is that the latter has a transmitter.
• Music to a story is like sauce to chicken. It always tastes better with it on.
• Carry your portable recording device all the time. Your greatest podcast will happen when you leave your recording device home. So don’t miss out on a great story. Tod played a clip from a journalist who had his recording device on him. On September 11th when the towers fell, the journalist didn’t record the towers falling. Instead, he interviewed a man who was hitting golf balls. When the journalist asked the man why he continued to golf while the sirens blared and the towers fell, the man replied that there wasn’t anything he could do. Tod highlighted that this journalist got an awesome story because he had his portable recording device on him.
• Tod also stressed that he’s just a nerd who started to do it first, but we should all take the credit for being the first podcasters in Canada.

Technorati Tags: PAB2006

Bruce Murray was by far the most humourous presenter. While his session wasn’t interactive, we were all certainly entertained. He spoke at length about editing and his main message was, “A good edit is one that you can’t hear.”

Some other points he made:

• Having different tracks while editing gives you greater flexibility, however, the file is big in terms of space and is demanding on your computer system. So, you sacrifice one for the other.
• Don’t be afraid to use sounds to create an environment in your podcast. Bruce talked about podcasting from a cafe, however, he actually recorded the podcast from his office. Use familiar sounds to create the effect of being in a time or place. Just type in “sound fx” or “sound effects” in Google to grab your sounds.
• If using music, record in a stereo format.
• Use shortcuts. CLT-S for saving your file (Command-S for Macs), CLT-Z for cutting (Command-Z for Macs), etc.
• Edit with headphones, then mix down with speakers.
• Use plenty of duct tape.
• To avoid legal hot water, use podsafe music. I highly recommend Podshow. Also, you can download the Podcasting Legal Guide at Creative Commons. It’s based on American laws, however, there’s a Canadian version in the works.

Technorati Tags: PAB2006

Mark Blevis gave advice on how to conduct a good podcasting interview. His points:

• No matter how knowledgable you are in the topic, let the expert talk. Don’t talk for him.
• Let your guest know that it’s a taped interview. This will help them relax and know that they don’t have to get it right the first time.
• Cutting out every um or ah may make the interview sound artificial. If the person speaks using alot of verbal crutches to the point that it’s annoying, then edit them out. Pick and choose at random the verbal clutter to make the interview sound natural.
• Don’t be afraid of dead-air. Often a person will take a breath before making their point. If it’s edited out, often the flow of the sentence sounds like it was edited.
• There are 3 people you need to respect in a podcast - the listener (give them what they want to hear), the guest (allow them to make their points) and yourself (don’t embarass your host).
• Mark made a difference between having a conversation and conducting an interview. A conversation will take the host off track as she or he introduces her opinions. An interview helps the host focus exclusively on getting a story from her or his host.
• Tod Maffin popped up on stage and made a really good point that you need to read the book or blog, or visit the website of the person you’re going to interview. In essence, get to know who you’re interviewing. Otherwise it’d become a really, really bad experience.

I believe that the interviewing process is the weakest part of the many podcasts I listened to. Many podcasters really have no clue how to conduct a really great interview.

A journalist could really tap into this by providing services for podcaster on how to ask really great questions, how to make guests feel at ease and how to successfully craft a story from your expert for your podcast.

Technorati Tags: PAB2006

In my presentation, I used each letter in the word PODCAST to show 7 ways to grow your podcast audience. I made sure that my presentation was as interactive as possible, although I ran out of time near the end. That meant that I had to rush through a couple of points.

There were a few people blogging from the conference, so I hope to find some comments from others and include the links here. I stayed away from the obvious - submit your podcast to podcatchers, send out a press release, do interviews in other podcasters’ podcasts, etc. Instead, my points were:

• Serve your podcast up from a blog, not a website.
• It will be difficult to make money directly from your podcast. Instead, use it as a lead generating tool.
• Optimize your post for search engines. Put keywords in the title and description of your podcast post in your blog.
• Create a community for your listeners. Encourage commenting on your blog and launch a forum.
• Actively support other podcasters. Use tags, trackbacks, bookmarks and other social media to drive traffic to your website.

I must admit, my presentation was heavily focused on business podcasting, so I know that I alienated those whose podcasts are more entertainment or spoken-word based. However, there are some lessons that all could learn whether they’re podcasting for fun or for profit.

Technorati Tags: PAB2006

I had a chance to hob-nob with Tod here at the conference. Despite the fact that all of Canada hails him as a pioneer in the podcasting field and interviews him for every piece they do on podcasting, he’s such a laid back type of guy. Humble, smart and loves his cats.

When I was preparing for my presentation, he came up and asked me if I needed anything. When I told him “hand lotion,” he rushed off and returned 3-minutes later with a small bottle of lotion.

(**sniff sniff**) No man has given me so much for so little. Well, except my dad. And my ex-boyfriend. Oh yes, and the guy I bought coffee from this morning (added extra cream). And the guy at McDonalds when I purchased a McGriddle (he almost gave the egg & cheese when I asked for egg, bacon & cheese). But still, I appreciated the gesture from Tod.

Technorati Tags: tod maffin, PAB2006